** ATTENTION ** THIS IS NOT A PHOTO OF THE SAN ANTONIO BORN, GRAMMY NOMINATED COUNTRY MUSICIAN WITH THE SAME NAME. Pat Green plays his guitar while relaxing in the shade during the 2004 33rd Annual Kerrville Folk Festival Sunday May 30, 2004 in Kerrville, Texas. PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/STAFF less

** ATTENTION ** THIS IS NOT A PHOTO OF THE SAN ANTONIO BORN, GRAMMY NOMINATED COUNTRY MUSICIAN WITH THE SAME NAME. Pat Green plays his guitar while relaxing in the shade during the 2004 33rd Annual Kerrville ... more

"I'm the cheerleader from another planet," Francie Meaux Jeaux, of Driftwood, TX, right, says as Davis "Korndog King" Ethridge, of Austin, plays the mandolin at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF less

"I'm the cheerleader from another planet," Francie Meaux Jeaux, of Driftwood, TX, right, says as Davis "Korndog King" Ethridge, of Austin, plays the mandolin at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on ... more

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Laura Johnson, 7, of Flats, TX, brushes her teeth at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Johnson recently went to the dentist for the first time and had no cavities. Lisa Krantz/STAFF less

Laura Johnson, 7, of Flats, TX, brushes her teeth at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Johnson recently went to the dentist for the first time and had no cavities. Lisa ... more

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Ann Greenlee, of Houston, left, and Irene Biggins, of Driftwood, right, paticipate in a jam session at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF

Ann Greenlee, of Houston, left, and Irene Biggins, of Driftwood, right, paticipate in a jam session at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF

"I'm the cheerleader from another planet," Francie Meaux Jeaux, of Driftwood, TX, announces to her friends as Davis "Korndog King" Ethridge, of Austin, as he plays the mandolin at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF less

"I'm the cheerleader from another planet," Francie Meaux Jeaux, of Driftwood, TX, announces to her friends as Davis "Korndog King" Ethridge, of Austin, as he plays the mandolin at the Kerrville Folk Festival in ... more

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Volunteer and performer, Anais Mitchell of Vermont, left, watches as Sean Altman, of New York, prepares backstage to compete in the New Folk contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF less

Volunteer and performer, Anais Mitchell of Vermont, left, watches as Sean Altman, of New York, prepares backstage to compete in the New Folk contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, ... more

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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"I'm the cheerleader from another planet," Francie Meaux Jeaux, of Driftwood, TX, says to Davis "Korndog King" Ethridge, of Austin, as he plays the mandolin at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF less

"I'm the cheerleader from another planet," Francie Meaux Jeaux, of Driftwood, TX, says to Davis "Korndog King" Ethridge, of Austin, as he plays the mandolin at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on ... more

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Image 22 of 25

Volunteer and performer, Anais Mitchell of Vermont, left, watches as Sean Altman, of New York, prepares backstage to compete in the New Folk contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF less

Volunteer and performer, Anais Mitchell of Vermont, left, watches as Sean Altman, of New York, prepares backstage to compete in the New Folk contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Tx on Sunday, ... more

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Vern Crawford, left, of Illinois, and Faith Purvis, of Austin, work backstage during the New Folk contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF

Vern Crawford, left, of Illinois, and Faith Purvis, of Austin, work backstage during the New Folk contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Vern Crawford, left, of Illinois, and Faith Purvis, of Austin, work backstage during the New Folk contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF

Vern Crawford, left, of Illinois, and Faith Purvis, of Austin, work backstage during the New Folk contest at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX on Sunday, May 29, 2005. Lisa Krantz/STAFF

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Rod Kennedy, founder of the Kerrville Folk Festival, dies

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SAN ANTONIO — Peter Yarrow had just one wish Saturday: to fly in from New York on Sunday in time to see his dear friend Rod Kennedy just one last time, sing him songs and “give him a kiss on the forehead.”

“I wanted to tell him I love him,” Yarrow said.

He got his wish.

Yarrow is, of course, the legendary folk music pillar of Peter, Paul & Mary; Kennedy is the founder of the long-running Kerrville Folk Festival, a world renowned haven for singer-songwriters.

Kennedy, ailing for a few years and under hospice care last week, died peacefully Monday morning in Kerrville. He was 84.

Dalis Allen, festival producer for several years and one of Kennedy's caregivers, said he was “surrounded by love and music.”

The legendary festival, which began in 1972, presented the famous and the unknown in its long history. Always sitting near the stage listening was its flamboyant, encouraging music-loving founder.

From the beginning, it attracted a diverse audience interested in songwriters with gravitas, newcomers or legends. It captured the magic of the singer-songwriter boom of the early '70s, dovetailing with the birth of the cosmic cowboy, progressive and outlaw country movements with performers like Townes Van Zandt, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Jerry Jeff Walker, as well as providing a home to Carolyn Hester and Mance Lipscomb.

Always involved was Yarrow, who started and hosted the New Folk concerts, celebrated birthdays there singing with his daughter and sometimes financed the festival when it was strapped for cash.

He praised Kennedy for “celebrating the new performers who are carrying on the tradition of songwriting ... and finding a community of friends.”

For a more complete story see the Tuesday San Antonio Express-News or ExpressNews.com.